The Sutherland Institute has launched a new and improved version of its popular www.UtahSchools.org, the largest independent clearinghouse of Utah school information. The website ranks all public and private schools in the state empowering parents to choose the school which best fits their child’s education needs.

“Utah has taken a giant leap in behalf of parental control of education,” said Paul T. Mero, president of Sutherland Institute. “Sutherland believes parents are responsible for their children’s education and that the state’s role in education is primarily as a support to parents.”

While some may argue that the current voucher program lacks sufficient state oversight, UtahSchools.org is an example of the market providing transparency and accountability by supplying parents with the information they need to assess the performance of both public and private schools. Some of the accountability measures and information available on Utahschools.org include:

Academic rankings based on a school’s standardized test scores

College prep rankings based on the number of students that take the ACT, the average ACT scores, and graduation rates for the school

Environment rankings based on the extra services a school offers as well as its advantages, such as class size, tutoring services, parent organizations, and extra curricular activities

Tips on becoming more self-reliant in education and why it’s important

School Locator, which allows parents to search for the schools nearest them

“The Utahschools.org site has been a popular website for years and with the passage of the voucher legislation, UtahSchools.org will only become more valuable and critical,” said Lyall Swim, Sutherland director of operations. “We believe the new format provides parents an intuitive tool that equips them to make an informed decision about where they send their child to school